A majority of consumers find native ads less intrusive than display ads. Clear labeling is critical, as over half of US consumers say they can tell the difference when ads are properly disclosed. This article details key statistics on consumer trust, campaign performance, and regulatory requirements for native advertising.
Key Takeaways
- 52% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that use native advertising
- 59% of consumers say native advertising is less intrusive than traditional display ads
- 46% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with native advertising than traditional display
- 70% of advertisers say native ads are effective
- 53% of advertisers say native advertising is more effective than display advertising
- 42% of advertisers report improved results after shifting budget to native ads
- 59% of marketers use native advertising to extend content marketing reach
- 64% of B2B marketers use native advertising
- 41% of B2B marketers use native advertising for lead generation
- The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held that native advertising must be disclosed if it would not be clear to consumers that the content is advertising
- FTC stated that disclosures should be “unavoidable” and placed where they are likely to be noticed
- FTC’s 2015 guidance says advertisers must ensure disclosures are included even on mobile devices
- UK CMA guidance requires advertisers to ensure marketing is clearly identifiable
Clear labeling makes native ads more trusted, less intrusive, and more engaging, driving clicks and brand lift.
Related reading
01 · Category
Consumer Trust & Effectiveness30 stats
01
52% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that use native advertisinghttps://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/natives-1.pdf
02
59% of consumers say native advertising is less intrusive than traditional display adshttps://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/natives-1.pdf
03
46% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with native advertising than traditional displayhttps://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/natives-1.pdf
04
64% of consumers say they are more likely to remember native advertising than traditional displayhttps://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/natives-1.pdf
05
58% of consumers say they are more likely to consider a brand after seeing native advertisinghttps://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/natives-1.pdf
06
53% of consumers say they are more likely to share content they discover through native advertisinghttps://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/natives-1.pdf
07
60% of US consumers say native ads should be clearly labeled as advertisinghttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Consumer-Study.pdf
08
68% of US consumers say they can usually tell the difference between native and editorial content when it is clearly labeledhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Consumer-Study.pdf
09
55% of US consumers say they have a more positive opinion of native advertising when it is clearly labeledhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Consumer-Study.pdf
10
42% of US consumers say native advertising is more useful than traditional advertisinghttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Consumer-Study.pdf
11
47% of US consumers say native advertising is more interesting than traditional advertisinghttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Consumer-Study.pdf
12
45% of respondents say they have clicked on native advertising at least oncehttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Consumer-Study.pdf
13
65% of respondents say it is important that native ads be clearly labeledhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
14
49% of respondents say they can usually tell when a piece of content is an adhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
15
62% of respondents say they feel native ads are less disruptive than other adshttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
16
56% of respondents say native ads can be informativehttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
17
47% of respondents say they would click more on native ads if they were clearly labeledhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
18
61% of respondents say native ads are “more interesting” than standard banner adshttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
19
44% of respondents say they have avoided content because it was not clearly labeled as advertisinghttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
20
35% of respondents say they have clicked a native adhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
21
57% of respondents say native ads do not bother themhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-Consumer-Study-Native-Advertising.pdf
22
38% of consumers said they pay attention to native adshttps://www.marketingcharts.com/television-and-video/most-adults-see-native-ads-as-mostly-honest-34240
23
36% of consumers said native ads fit their interests better than other adshttps://www.marketingcharts.com/television-and-video/most-adults-see-native-ads-as-mostly-honest-34240
24
67% of US consumers said disclosure labels reduce confusion about native advertisinghttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
25
54% of US consumers said they would be more likely to click a native ad with clear labelinghttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
26
52% of respondents said native ads are generally acceptable if clearly labeledhttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
27
41% of respondents said they are more likely to trust a native ad than a banner adhttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
28
39% of respondents said they are likely to share content from a native adhttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
29
46% of respondents said they have noticed native ads in the news feedhttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
30
43% of respondents said they have clicked on a native adhttps://www.bstn.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-FTC-Consumer-Education-Native-Ads.pdf
Interpretation
Consumer Trust & Effectiveness Interpretation
Consumers like native advertising because it behaves more like helpful content than loud banner clutter, but only when it is clearly labeled, because the moment the audience can’t tell what’s an ad, trust gets set on fire and people start avoiding or feeling misled.
02 · Category
Campaign Performance & Measurement30 stats
01
70% of advertisers say native ads are effectivehttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
02
53% of advertisers say native advertising is more effective than display advertisinghttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
03
42% of advertisers report improved results after shifting budget to native adshttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
04
59% of advertisers use native advertising to reach audiences with higher engagementhttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
05
45% of marketers use native ads for lead generationhttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
06
38% of marketers use native ads to drive brand awarenesshttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
07
64% of marketers say they use content marketing in conjunction with native advertisinghttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
08
50% of marketers say they measure native advertising performance using viewabilityhttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
09
46% of marketers say they measure performance with engagement metrics such as time on contenthttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
10
41% of marketers use click-through rate (CTR) as a key native advertising KPIhttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
11
37% of marketers use branded lift studies for native advertising measurementhttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
12
33% of marketers use conversion tracking for native advertisinghttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
13
25% of marketers say native advertising contributes to higher purchase intenthttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
14
29% of marketers say native ads generate higher ROI than other formatshttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
15
21% of marketers say native ads increase return visits to websiteshttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
16
26% of marketers say native ads improve customer lifetime value (CLV)https://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
17
28% of marketers say native ads reduce cost-per-leadhttps://www.scribd.com/document/357029262/IAB-Native-Advertising-Report
18
40% of native ads achieve higher engagement than banner adshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
19
60% of native ad campaigns report improved CTR compared to display averageshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
20
72% of marketers say native ads are more engaging than other advertising formatshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
21
55% of brands use native advertising for audience targetinghttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
22
48% of marketers report higher time-on-page for native ads vs banner adshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
23
1.5x higher average engagement rate for native ads vs banner adshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
24
2.0x higher click-through rate (CTR) for native ads vs banner adshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
25
38% average increase in brand awareness when using native adshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
26
31% average decrease in cost-per-click (CPC) for native ads vs displayhttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
27
2.3x higher conversion rate from native ads vs standard adshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
28
45% of native ads generate measurable lifts in brand metricshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
29
34% of marketers say native advertising improves SEO performance indirectly through content distributionhttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
30
27% of marketers say native advertising helps drive newsletter signupshttps://www.engagebay.com/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
Interpretation
Campaign Performance & Measurement Interpretation
Native advertising is proving, with numbers that keep stacking like a well-matched playlist, that it is often more engaging than traditional display, driving better clicks, conversions, brand lift, and even downstream metrics like time on page and audience reach, while a minority of campaigns still struggle with measurement and transparency concerns.
03 · Category
Adoption & Market Size30 stats
01
59% of marketers use native advertising to extend content marketing reachhttps://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CMI_Research_Report_FINAL_4.16.15.pdf
02
64% of B2B marketers use native advertisinghttps://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-B2B-CM-Survey.pdf
03
41% of B2B marketers use native advertising for lead generationhttps://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-B2B-CM-Survey.pdf
04
54% of marketers use native advertising as part of their content strategyhttps://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-B2B-CM-Survey.pdf
05
73% of marketers expect their native advertising spend to increase in the next 12 monthshttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
06
47% of marketers plan to increase native ad budgetshttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
07
24% of marketers plan to decrease native ad budgetshttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
08
38% of marketers already allocate more than 10% of budget to native advertisinghttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
09
31% of marketers allocate 5–10% to native adshttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
10
19% allocate less than 5% to native adshttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
11
56% of marketers say native ads reach their intended audiencehttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
12
46% of marketers say native ads help increase reachhttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
13
42% of marketers say native ads help reduce churnhttps://www.adstage.io/blog/native-advertising-statistics/
14
2.5x growth in native ad spend in 2015 vs 2014 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2015
15
US native ad spending was $9.5B in 2015 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2015
16
US native ad spending was $11.5B in 2016 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2016
17
US native ad spending was $16.2B in 2017 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2017
18
US native ad spending was $22.3B in 2018 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2018
19
US native ad spending was projected at $29.4B in 2019 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2019
20
US native ad spending was projected at $38.2B in 2020 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2020
21
US native ad spending projected to reach $46.5B in 2021 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2021
22
US native ad spending projected to reach $56.0B in 2022 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2022
23
US native ad spending projected to reach $66.4B in 2023 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2023
24
US native ad spending projected to reach $75.8B in 2024 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2024
25
US native ad spending projected to reach $82.6B in 2025 per eMarketerhttps://www.emarketer.com/content/native-ad-spend-us-2025
26
Digital native display advertising spending in the US projected to be $42.9B in 2021 per Insider Intelligencehttps://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/native-advertising-2021
27
Native advertising is forecast to account for 10.1% of US digital display ad spending in 2021https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/native-advertising-2021
28
US native ad spending projected to reach $64.4B by 2024 per Insider Intelligencehttps://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/native-advertising-2024
29
Native advertising spend growth rate projected at 24.9% in 2021 vs 2020 per Insider Intelligencehttps://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/native-advertising-2021
30
Native advertising spend growth rate projected at 19.2% in 2022 vs 2021 per Insider Intelligencehttps://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/native-advertising-2022
Interpretation
Adoption & Market Size Interpretation
Native advertising has quietly become the industry’s favorite way to stretch content farther, with most marketers using it for reach and strategy, many expecting budgets to rise, spend growing from $9.5B in 2015 to a projected $82.6B by 2025 in the US, and nearly all momentum pointing toward native ads becoming an increasingly mainstream share of digital display advertising rather than a niche experiment.
More related reading
04 · Category
Regulatory, Ethics & Disclosures25 stats
01
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held that native advertising must be disclosed if it would not be clear to consumers that the content is advertisinghttps://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2013/09/ftc-staff-warns-endorsers/
02
FTC stated that disclosures should be “unavoidable” and placed where they are likely to be noticedhttps://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2015/06/native-advertising-clear-conspicuous-disclosures
03
FTC’s 2015 guidance says advertisers must ensure disclosures are included even on mobile deviceshttps://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2015/06/native-advertising-clear-conspicuous-disclosures
04
FTC settlement required disclosure by Rizo’s Beauty, with “#ad” or equivalenthttps://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/casesproceedings/152-3104-rizo-spa-inc
05
FTC settlement with Sunday Riley required use of clear disclosures “#ad” in Instagram postshttps://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/casesproceedings/172-3164-sunday-riley-modern-skincare-inc-et-al
06
FTC settlement with Cole Haan required clear disclosures in Instagram endorsementshttps://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/casesproceedings/172-3085-cole-haan
07
FTC’s 2022 amended Endorsement Guides require clear disclosures of material connections, which applies to native-style endorsementshttps://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/advertising-disclosures
08
FTC’s 2023 updated “Advertising Disclosures” page describes three conditions for disclosures to be effective (clear, prominent, unavoidable)https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/advertising-disclosures
09
IAB disclosure guidelines recommend that label placement be “visually prominent” and not obscuredhttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IAB-Native-Advertising-Disclosure-Guidelines.pdf
10
IAB recommends that the disclosure be placed near the content consumers are expected to noticehttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IAB-Native-Advertising-Disclosure-Guidelines.pdf
11
IAB states native advertising disclosures should be consistent across platformshttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IAB-Native-Advertising-Disclosure-Guidelines.pdf
12
IAB playbook recommends disclosure at the point of first usehttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/IAB-Native-Advertising-Playbook.pdf
13
IAB playbook states consumers should be able to identify sponsored content without scrollinghttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/IAB-Native-Advertising-Playbook.pdf
14
IAB playbook requires disclosure even if advertiser is identifiable by other meanshttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/IAB-Native-Advertising-Playbook.pdf
15
2018 UK CAP Code requires ad labeling so that it is clear from the start that it’s an adhttps://www.asa.org.uk/type/advice-and-guidance/labelled-ads.html
16
EU Commission guidance on unfair commercial practices includes requirement that ads not mislead as to nature of product promotionhttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32005L0029
17
FTC warns that disclosure placement that is not “clear and conspicuous” may violate Section 5https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2015/06/native-advertising-clear-conspicuous-disclosures
18
FTC says disclosures must be noticeable in light of context and devicehttps://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/advertising-disclosures
19
IAB’s Disclosure Guidelines state a label like “Sponsored” must be used where appropriatehttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IAB-Native-Advertising-Disclosure-Guidelines.pdf
20
IAB native ad disclosure guidelines say “consumers should not be required to interpret or infer” disclosureshttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IAB-Native-Advertising-Disclosure-Guidelines.pdf
21
2018 FTC blog post highlights “more than 500 complaints” about native advertising on social mediahttps://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2018/08/social-media-ads-and-disclosures
22
2019 FTC enforcement included requiring clear labels in influencer/native-style promotionhttps://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/02/ftc-halts-deceptive-marketing-competitors
23
2020 FTC warning letter emphasized “#ad” disclosures in short-form videohttps://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/casesproceedings/170-3017-cole-haan
24
IAB recommends “Sponsored by” disclosures for certain placementshttps://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IAB-Native-Advertising-Disclosure-Guidelines.pdf
25
EU’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive requires misleading actions to be prohibitedhttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32005L0029
Interpretation
Regulatory, Ethics & Disclosures Interpretation
Native advertising can be “native” in look but never in behavior: the FTC and IAB insist that sponsored content be clearly and prominently labeled, placed where people will actually notice from the start and across devices and platforms, even when influencers or brands try to blend it in, because if disclosures aren’t unavoidable and understandable, the whole thing risks turning from marketing into a misleading shell game.
05 · Category
Regulatory,1 stats
01
UK CMA guidance requires advertisers to ensure marketing is clearly identifiablehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-claims-code
Interpretation
Regulatory, Interpretation
The UK CMA’s Native Advertising guidance is basically insisting that if your ad looks like it could be content, it must be clearly labeled so readers are never left guessing whether they are being sold to.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Native Advertising Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Native Advertising Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Native Advertising Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics.
Sources & references
38 datasets cited across this report
+19 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)